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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Parisian Nudists Get Designated Area to Frolic “au Naturel”

An increasing number of people in France espouse a clothing-free lifestyle

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Terry Pratchett’s Unfinished Novels Got Steamrolled

Literally.

Jeannie Rousseau photographed in 1939 or 1940

Courageous WWII Spy Jeannie Rousseau Has Died at 98

Using charm and cunning, she helped uncover Nazi plans to build deadly V-1 and V-2 rockets

Brawling was one of the few ways available to settle disputes among lower-class Londoners, potentially leading to injuries and deaths

Medieval Graveyards Unearth London’s Violent Past

A new analysis of hundreds of ancient skulls shows how often violent trauma affected the poor and the rich

Newly found letters by Alan Turing

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New Letters Show Alan Turing Wasn’t a Fan of the U.S.A.

The groundbreaking mathematician and computer scientist who spent 2 years at Princeton wrote that he ‘detests America’ in newly found documents

People were just starting to gain an obsession with apocalypse fiction when Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man."

The Author of ‘Frankenstein’ Also Wrote a Post-Apocalyptic Plague Novel

‘The Last Man’ was derided in its time for being too grim, but today it would fit in with a growing genre of dystopian fiction

Marshall was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.

The Case Thurgood Marshall Never Forgot

Fifty years ago today, Thurgood Marshall became a Supreme Court justice. He kept telling the story of the Groveland Four

On May 18, 1893, Anna Julia Cooper delivered an address at the World's Congress of Representative Women, saying, famously, "The white woman could least plead for her own emancipation; the black woman, doubly enslaved, could but suffer and struggle and be silent."

This Video Breaks Down the ABCs of Intersectionality

The National Museum of African American History and Culture explores the long legacy of women who shaped the feminist sociological theory

This Texas Museum Was Devastated by Ike. Here’s How It Prepared For Harvey

The Galveston Arts Center sustained heavy losses when Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008. This time around, staff members were ready

A still from the 1991 film "Anna Göldi, Last Witch"

Last Person Executed as a Witch in Europe Gets a Museum

Beheaded in 1782, Anna Göldi fell victim to a system that prized the views of powerful men over justice

Some authorities believe that chop suey is related to a traditional Chinese dish, but nobody knows for sure.

Chop Suey: An American Classic

Nobody really knows exactly where this dish came from, but it’s not China

George R. R. Martin at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International.

Texas University Invites Fans to Scour George R.R. Martin’s Archives for Plot Clues

The author’s vast collection is stored in Texas A&M’s Cushing Library

Glenn Kaino's "Hollow Earth" installation uses a trick of light to show an lit tunnel delving into the ground

Relive the Great American Eclipse With Art That’s Out of This World

The site-specific Wyoming exhibit uses the occasion of the Sun going dark over a small resort town to reckon with commercial tourism and history

Hemingway in Cuba.

How Mary Hemingway and JFK Got Ernest Hemingway’s Legacy Out of Cuba

1961, the year Hemingway died, was a complicated year for U.S.-Cuba relations

Canadian Town’s Swastika-Adorned Anchor Causes Anger and Confusion

The anchor appears to predate the Nazi era, but an activist says it should nevertheless be removed from a public park

Tropical Storm Harvey as seen the morning of August 24, 2017 by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite.

Why Amateur Radio Operators Are Watching Hurricane Harvey

Ham radio underwent a resurgence in the United States after Hurricane Katrina

Some of the more traditional offerings at the Iowa State Fair. This year's fair food includes deep fried cheddar bacon cheese on a stick.

Bite Into the Whys Behind State Fair Food

This American institution has changed a lot, but some things remain just the same

Prittlewell Priory in Essex, Britain.

PSA: Do Not Place Your Child in an 800-Year-Old Coffin

A sarcophagus on display at the Prittlewell Priory Museum in England was damaged when visitors did just that

K.O. Gotz, 1968

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German Abstract Art Pioneer K.O. Götz Dies at 103

His broad strokes and large-scale paintings helped re-establish Germany as post-war cultural hub

A symbol that existed on typewriters is now a hallmark of the internet age

A Decade Ago, the Hashtag Reshaped the Internet

From humble origins, this ancient punctuation mark has gained new life as a symbol to connect us all on social media

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